Modern web design is very much about spreading a message and using exciting technologies to back that up. istyle RECRUIT does this very well without being overtly flashy, conveying a universal message when the typography doesn’t always translate.

The purpose is creative recruitment for istyle Inc, presenting a top-down view of the company business before literally zooming down for closer inspection. A graphical globe device and a series of CSS3 transforms are used to scroll us down to employee level and a more human perspective. For all the messages on “big data” services, RECRUIT is about talented people, so it’s apt that designers SHIFTBRAIN could lend its considerable talents to the project.

Founded in 2003 and located in Tokyo, this multidisciplinary agency has scooped a dizzying array of FWA and CSS awards during that time. “The concept we came up with was ‘macro to micro’ as we wanted to express how they create business in a large international scale by focusing on small elements from voices of the users and their employees,” Director Shoko Takayama explains. “We were inspired by the movie Powers of Ten. The scroll down zooming enabled us to design the concept we came up with, zooming from space to Earth, then to Roppongi, Tokyo where istyle HQ stands and finally toward their employees.”

• As the planet zooms, you’ll encounter a series of messages and slogans in English and Japanese